Reel



J. S. KOMAS SA Oct. 18,1949.

REEL

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 13, 1945 INVENTOR Jszone .5 Kenna BY 7:'ATTORNYi J. S. KOMASSA Oct. 18, 1949.

REEL

2 Sheets -Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 13, 1945 INVENTOR JEROME .5. KamnssnATTORNEY-i ,ggga

Patented Oct. 18, 1949 REEL : Jerome S. 'Komassa,-Milwaukee, wisassignor; by

mesneassignments, to Rodger F. Becker, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Application August 13, 1945,"SerialiNo;6-10 ,501

be used as a clothesline reel on which a clothes- 'linemay be 'leftpermanently stored with protection from the weathen-both. for the lineand for the operating 'mechanism.

It i a further object of the invention to providea device of thischaracter in which the reel may be positively locked in any position ofadjustment and will further be checked or locked automatically if itsre-winding speed becomes excessive.

More specifically, it isone of the objects of the-invention to provide adesirablemounting for the reel and its actuating connections, as willmore fullyappearirom. the following disclosure. of the invention.

In. the drawings:

Fig.l1 is a. view .in perspective showing my improved reel as it appearsin use.

:Fig. 2 is av view taken in horizontal section through the. reel case,showing the partially filled reel in plan.

Fig. 3 is a view taken in-transverse section through the'reel. case.

Fig.4 is an-enlarged detail view taken in. horizontal section throughthe entire mechanism.

.Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view taken in transverse se'ction'on theline 55 of Fig. 4.

EEig. -6' is a view fragmentarily illustrating. a modified embodiment inwhich the spring motors have .a different series connection from thatshown'in Fig. 4.

Like parts are designated by the same reference characters throughoutthe application.

The case or cabinet I comprises a shell assembled to a reel frame whichincludes a mounting plate :8 and apair of bracket arms 9.-and II]. Thebracket arm I extends transversely at II and rearwardly at I2. The armportion I2 and the arm portion 9 provide bearings for the reel shaft I3to which is attached, by means of pin I4, the hub I of the reel I6.

'The'motor shaft I1 is fixed, by means of pin I8, in the bracket arm IIIin line with the reel shaft I3 in which its end portion I9 is piloted.

In order to providesuificient spring capacity to rewind substantiallengths of line on. the reel I6,;I prefer to use .a number-10f springmotors in sequence. I havefound phonograph'zmotors to be particularlysuitable for this purpose. Three phonograph motors 29- are connected inseries in the embodiment illustrated.

8 Claims. (Cl. 242- 102) .Each. such phonograph motor 20 convention- Theouter end of spring -22 is connected at 24 to the closed-shell 25 whichis mounted to revolve .uponthe. hub. The: shell 25 of the first motoris,.;for thezpurposes of the present invention, riveted :to-afiangelficon the reel shaft I3, while the :hub .ZI oftthe first motorisprovided at-TZ'I with a jaw clutch in engagement withthe hub 2 Iof thesecond spring motor. The second spring motor is identicalwith the firstexcept that the spring should be wound oppositely because the secondandthird springmotors have their respective. shells-.25 connected to. acommon back plate-28. The hub-of the third spring motor is pinned to thestationary shaft I'I at I'll which, as. already noted, is fixed to thebracket. Thus, the several motors are connected in series to providesufficient spring capacity for reeling in a\very considerable length ofline without employing the use of gears and without raising the torqueat anytime to an .unduly high value.

"Fig. {6 shows an alternative arrangement in whichthe shell 29 of thefirst motor is connected exactly as. above described but each of thefirst and second :motors has a flanged hub z'lfl connected with theshell of the next motor in'the series the hub of the'last motor beingidentified by'reference character 2| I. Where this arrangement is used,the successive springs may all be wound in the same direction.

In both constructions the several series=connected spring'motors arehoused within one end ofthe drum'or reel I6 at one side of the web 29'which supports the reel from its hub I5.

Within the reel, at the other side of the web 29,"I'prefer to provideboth a positive lock and a governor brake. The reel hub I5 is providedat 3'0 with square'cut teeth (Figs. 4 and 5) with which the dog3I isengageable and disengageable by oscillation of the rock shaft 32 which,at the '"front'of 'the'cabinet, is provided with a crank 33forits'man'ual operation. This dog is preferably positive so'that, when itis engaged, the reel. cannot rotate in either direction. When the'linel35 is-drawn out for use as shown in Figs. Land. 3,. the. handle 33may be adjusted tolockingposition so that, regardless of the weightimposed on..the line, no. further line will be paid out by thereel.

.The. hub I5 -also carries: anchorage bosses 36 Q from which springs 31carry brake shoes .38 in proximity to the stationary drum 39 supportedfrom bracket arm 9. The springs3'l are resiliently flexible and, asshown in Fig. 3, are Volute in-a direction which is clockwise from thehub to the outenendof thearms. The bias of the arms normally holds theshoes free of the drum. However, if the operator accidently releases theline,

the resulting acceleration of the reel, as a result of the action of thespring motors therein, will throw the shoes 38 centrifugally intoengagement with the drum and the resulting friction will tend to causethe shoes to lag with reference to the moving hub I 5, therebyincreasing the bias of the springs 31, with the result that thefrictional pressure of the shoes against the drum will be sharplyincreased progressively, thus bringing the reel to a halt and allowingthe operator to recapture the line. If the line is paid in at a ratewhich is not excessive, the spring motors will actuate the reel to windthe line without any braking action such as above described.

To guide the line as it is fed in or out of the case or cabinet 1, I mayprovide one or more rollers (Figs. 3 and 4) which may be journalled inlugs 4| inwardly turned at the ends of the slot and integral with thecasing.

In use, my improved reel may either be fastened externally to existingbuildings as shown in Fig. 1, or may be built into the wall of abuilding. With the latter possibility in view, the control lever 33 hasbeen located on the front of the cabinet I.

In all routine uses of the device, the brake lock will remaininoperative but at any time when the rewinding speed of the reel becomesexcessive, the brake lock will function to retard or stop reel rotation.The positive lock stops rotation in either direction and is ordinarilyapplied only when the desired length of line has been paid out.

By using a series of volute springs connected in sequence, I am able topay out a very substantial length of line without building up unduespring torque and I am able to rewind a substantial length of line withadequate torque.

It will be noted that by housing both the spring motors and brake andlock mechanism within the reel, I am able to employ a reel which has amaximum of capacity of line in relation to the size of the storagecabinet. The reel substantially fills the space between the brackets,

about which the cabinet is closely fitted. It will be apparent that formany purposes the cabinet may be removed.

I claim: 1. The combination with a mounting bracket comprising threealigned supports, of a reel shaft rotatable between two of said supportsand an aligned motor shaft extending between one of the reel shaftsupports and the third support, a reel encircling said shafts andprovided with means carrying it from said reel shaft for rotation, a setof volute spring motors certain of which have rotatable portions mountedon said motor shaft, said spring motors being provided with meansconnecting them in series between said motor shaft and reel, said springmotors being housed within said reel.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the motor shaft has a bearing in thereel shaft.

3. The device of claim 1, in which said supports comprise remotelyspaced bracket arms providing the outermost of said supports, a lateralextension of one of said arms having an inwardly turned end providing anintermediate support.

4. The combination with a bracket comprising spaced arms, of a lateralextension on one of said arms having an inwardly turned end, a reelshaft rotatably mounted in said end and in one of said bracket arms, ,amotor shaft mounted in the other of said bracket arms and supported bysaid end, a tubular reel operatively mounted for rotation on the reelshaft and surrounding both of said shafts, a set of volute spring motorsconnected in series between the reel and the motor shaft, at least oneof said motors comprising means rotatable upon the motor shaft, and apositive lock including a part mounted on one of said arms and a partconnected with said reel, one of said parts being manually operable intoengagement and disengagement respecting the other.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4, in further combination with acabinet enclosingsaid arms and reel, and means operable from the frontof said cabinet for engaging and disengaging said lock parts.

6. The combination set forth in claim 4, in further combination with abrake drum mounted on one of said shafts within the reel and brake shoesprovided with yieldable mountings from said reel and operativelydisposed within the drum for centrifugal engagement therewith inresponse to excessive rates of reel rotation.

7. The combination set forth in claim 4, in further combination with abrake drum mounted on one of said shafts within the reel and brake shoesprovided with yieldable mountings from said reel and operativelydisposed within the drum for centrifugal engagement therewith inresponse to excessive rates of reel rotation, said yieldable supportscomprising volute springs pitched in the direction of winding rotationof the reel whereby to automatically increase the bias of said springswhen said shoes engage said drum in the course of a winding reel motion.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination with ahousing and. a fixed shaft mounted therein, of a reel hub rotativelymounted to turn about the fixed shaft and having one end disposed inproximity to a given portion of said housing, a web connected with theother end of said hub and projecting radially therefrom, a reel mountedon the web to turn with said hub and having a portion extending aboutsaid hub toward said housing portion, whereby to provide a cavitybetween said reel portion and hub and between said web and said housingportion, said reel being flanged, and a plurality of spring motorsdisposed at the other side of said web from the cavity aforesaid andoperatively connected with each other in series, a spring motor remotefrom said web at one end of said series having an anchorage connectionwith said shaft, and a spring motor proximate to said web having adriving connection with said hub.

JEROME S. KOMASSA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 139,484 Talpey June 3, 1873727,486 Sundin May 5, 1903 947,482 Deatherage Jan. 25, 1910 1,120,341Smith Dec. 8, 1914 1,153,188 Block Sept. 14, 1915 1,941,880 Earll Jan.2, 1934 1,971,470 Watson Aug. 28, 1934 2,133,551 Logan Oct. 13, 19382,403,653 Geohegan et a1, July 9, 194g

